Saturday, September 20, 2008

My Evening With Phil Stacey

So as I sat in my seat last night at Poage Landing Days looking around at the somewhat disappointing crowd sitting quietly in their seats, I was almost afraid to scream…

Almost…

In fact, if the couple sitting next to me is waiting for an apology for all of my screaming, they’re not going to get it. After all, I waited months for this concert. I wasn’t about to keep my mouth shut.

And if you were there, you know I didn’t…

And if you weren’t there, then shame on you for missing a fantastic show…

Phil kicked things off with the opening track of his CD, “Who You Know.” Then he ripped through a number of other tracks from his CD, including “Find You,” “Looking Like Love,” “Still Going Through,” and “No Way Around a River.” We also heard “Be Good to Each Other” and “Round Here.”

In between the songs he told us stories about his wife, Kendra, meeting Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, and his childhood. And he’s just as charming on the stage as he was on the phone. And his voice was as crystal clear and gorgeous as ever.

Phil also treated us to “the song that gave [him] a career,” “Where the Blacktop Ends,” “Sweet Home Alabama,” an amazing cover of “I Don’t Wanna Be,” and a scorching rendition of “Every Breath You Take.”

But you know what I wanted to hear and Phil did not disappoint me. And as promised, I screamed through the whole thing. Actually, I started screaming from the moment Phil said, “Bon Jovi”…

If you were there, you know that “Blaze of Glory” was even better than I advertised. He’s added some new nuances since last year and they sounded incredible. Even the quiet people in the crowd had to respond to that one…

But as Phil predicted, the song where everyone got behind him was “Old Glory.” The crowd was totally moved by the lyrics. And it was hard not to be impressed by his skills on the keyboard…

Phil closed the show with his first single, “If You Didn’t Love Me.” And then after saying goodbye to the crowd, Phil went over to a table to greet everyone at the concert and sign an autograph for them (I admit I didn’t stand in the line myself, but I’m guessing he was there until pretty late.).

It’s such a pleasure to see someone so grateful for what they have. It’s obvious that Phil loves what he does and appreciates everyone who comes to see him do it.

Phil promised he’d return to Ashland. I hope if he does, more people will come see him…

Or at least some more people who know how to scream…

If you were at the concert, feel free to share your thoughts by posting a comment. You can also share your pictures by e-mailing me at hdstaytuned@hotmail.com